Why buying a rail trip online can cost more than paying at the station

smjxm09

Return journey: Luton Airport Parkway to St Pancras on First Capital Connect then change for the high speed rail link to Stratford International using Southeastern Trains. 1 adult, 2 children, travelling on a day return for Saturday. Total journey time should be less than an hour.


First Capital Connect website shows the correct journey with the cheapest fare of £32.60.


Southeastern shows a 1 hour 45 minute trip with 2 changes via West Hampstead then using the London Overground and then the Metro but not using their direct train from St Pancras. Cost £30.20.


If booked on-line as 2 separate journeys First Capital Connect charge £18 return to St Pancras and Southeastern charge £11.65 return for St Pancras to Stratford International. Total cost £29.65.


But by buying the Luton Airport Parkway to St Pancras trip at the station has brought that part of the journey down to £13 so the total cost is now £24.65.

What a total minefield privatization has brought to the travelling public.:mad:

wealdroam

£13 is the fare for one adult, no children, Off Peak Day Return from Luton Airport Parkway to St Pancras.

Are you sure you are comparing like with like?

smjxm09

I'm holding the tickets now. Luton Airport Parkway to St Pancras return is £9 for the adult as a Super off peak day return and £2 for each child. According to the ticket office at the station the only restriction is that I can't use the East Midland nonstop train, as they don't recognize the £2 child fare. If I paid £18 I could use that service as well.

It seems that the promotion take a kid for a quid is not available online so the first part of the journey is cheaper if bought at the station but the second part of the journey I got an online discount from Southeastern for that booking.


Train travel using different rail companies to complete a trip is a total nightmare when it comes to fares. This really needs to be sorted out as the customer is being over charged.

droopsnoot

This happens a lot, often because the person in the ticket office has more knowledge of alternative tickets that might be available. Some years ago we booked a trip for work, I forget where to, three of us travelling. Cost via the web site was about £65 each return, not terrible as it was a business trip, but a fair bit of money. For some reason we couldn't book online (problem with the site, I think) so visited the ticket office and were offered a group booking that would cover up to four of us, reserved seats, same journey, £50 all in.

A few years back there was a new item that announced all these anomalies were being addressed because no-one, staff included, had any idea how to consistently get the best deal. I can't say I've noticed it getting much better.

Livingthedream

smjxm09 wrote: »

It seems that the promotion take a kid for a quid is not available on-line.

It can happen, some promotions don't get loaded on all the train companies' websites and the Train companies' website ticket search engine's can be different as well (2 different types at the moment and about a 50% split on which search engine is used).

I use the East Coast website for the majority of my tickets but they don't sell the 'Kids go free tickets' that I sometimes need. I could buy them from the Scotrail site, but I won't because the price will be the same at the station and if I change my mind about going then I just don't buy, I therefore won't be lumbered with the hassle of getting a refund or a £10 charge.

Also I enjoy the friendly service at my local station

smjxm09

The bit that surprises me is that Southeastern trains don't recognise their own route from St Pancras when booked from Luton with their website trying to send me via the London Overground and the Metro to get to Stratford International. That part of the journey should be 6 minutes and not the 40 minutes quoted.

Road_Hog

This happens all the time, it doesn't mean it's cheaper buying at the station, it just means you need to check online.

Virtually any time when I have booked a fare and it involves changes, it is always cheaper to book the separate stages rather than booking the journey as a whole.

daveyjp

Just had similar. Priced up a london one day travelcard from Stevenage. 2 adults, one child with a family railcard. Online over £30, bought at station and it was less than £30.

wealdroam

daveyjp wrote: »

Just had similar. Priced up a london one day travelcard from Stevenage. 2 adults, one child with a family railcard. Online over £30, bought at station and it was less than £30.

For that journey on a Saturday or Sunday, East Coast Trains offer a Super Off Peak One Day Travelcard for your party with railcard for £24.15.
It is available online from their website.

That ticket may not be offered by other vendors.